“Serephione! Nobody in our domain, especially father and I, wants to just sit around and enjoy the peace caused by your misfortune.”
Father... And the proud people of my domain...
“Don’t worry, nobody followed me. You know I’m good at sneaking into other countries.” My brother winked. He was lightening the mood so I wouldn’t worry.
“Um, brother, when I left...”
I noticed a huge magical presence headed our way in the middle of my sentence.
Voom! Asu appeared from a vortex, his wings spread, along with Gillain.
“Granzeus... I see.” Gillain’s face showed obvious relief—not a common sight.
My brother moved me aside and knelt onto the ground. “It’s an honor to see you again, Asu. Your Imperial Highness, thank you for protecting my beloved sister. I wouldn’t have been able to see Serephione again if not for both of your help.”
Asu chuckled. “You must be relieved, Larouza.” I interpreted Asu’s words for my brother, who bent down even farther. I guess the way he treats Asu is different than Lou, who he grew up with.
“What I did for Sere, I did for myself. You don’t need to thank me,” Gillain replied. “I have a lot I want to ask you, though... Let’s relocate.”
We went back to the Twilight Palace, and I cast soundproofing, sightproofing, and defensive magic. Gillain and Asu sat at the head of the table, and my brother and I sat opposite them. It was my first time making tea for my brother in a long time, so I felt a bit nervous.
“I heard most of what happened from grandmother and the saint.”
My brother had apparently grasped the general situation.
“But I don’t get it... Lou, Asu, forgive me if this is disrespectful, but how were the three of you together defeated by the prince on his own?”
I gave Lou a look, and he nodded.
“Prince Schneider was controlling Terl, the heavenly beast of the north. Unlike Gillain and Asu, the prince had taken over his entire mind.”
My brother gazed upward. “So, the heavenly beast of the north went berserk...”
“No, the prince was also strong. And I was weak,” I admitted.
“Serephione...”
“Tell me how you, father, and grandmother have been since I left.”
“Let’s see... On the day you left, we got word that you were attacked by Prince Schneider when General Avenger had brought him in and that you disappeared. We had no idea where you were after that. Father guessed that there had been an emergency and you’d gone into hiding, as per the plan.”
I remembered the beginning of the whole mess.
“Father immediately made a surprise attack on the knight school; he wanted to take the first move. He ordered them to send you home at once. He bluffed that his Granzeus magic told him that something had happened to you. The school has to be responsible for all of its students. Even if a student caused trouble with the royal family, that’s the school’s fault for not supervising them, and they’re liable if a minor gets injured by an outside party. Especially if they go missing. It doesn’t matter that you’re stronger than the teachers—your position is still that of a weak student.”
My brother looked into my eyes to gauge that I understood before he continued.
“The school told him that you’d suddenly disappeared and that they didn’t know what had happened. Father shook them by saying that he’d heard from a witness that the first prince and General Avenger had drawn their swords. The principal said they were looking for General Avenger to confirm the story, but he was missing. As for the prince, a few days later, we got an investigation report that concluded that the prince did go to the school on that day, but he went back to his palace immediately, and all he did was confirm something with you.”
He calls that just a confirmation...
“I had planned to fight back to defend your honor if the prince was aggressive toward us, but he was naturally hurt after the battle with you and Lou. He decided not to go to war right away. Oh, and before things calmed down, I went back to our domain to protect the people. I spend most of my time there nowadays. I split guard duty with father in the capital.”
He’s already stopped traveling...
“Prince Schneider has been completely silent toward the Granzeuses. I don’t think he has some profound reason; he probably just wants to wait until the situation calms down. The school used General Avenger’s absence as an excuse not to answer questions about your disappearance, and you still have a place at the school. But they couldn’t keep it covered up. A student who was enrolled there quickly spread the story that you had been attacked by a prince, a general, and some magicians, and that your father was desperately looking for his lost daughter. Everyone in the nation got the impression that the Granzeus family was the victim. It’s the truth, after all. And it’s convincing. The more you underestimate public opinion, the more antagonism you garner, and I know the prince is bright enough to understand that. So I don’t think our family has anything to worry about for the time being.”
Father had used public opinion to his advantage. He had already been popular with the people because of his strictness in taxing and taking property from the nobility fairly. I was proud of him.
“Um, you said General Avenger went missing?”
“Grandmother’s spies caught him right after and nearly killed him. I heard he got thrown into the depths of the royal palace. What a fool. I don’t know what happened to him after that.”
“Of course...” Lou muttered. I let out a long breath and closed my eyes. Even a little kid should know that would happen if you broke a promise with my grandmother.
I couldn’t resent the general after all that had happened, but he didn’t have what it took to be an authority. I couldn’t resent him...but I couldn’t sympathize with him either.
My grandmother was strict, but she almost seemed to be going easy on him, maybe because they were old acquaintances.
She’d dirtied her hands for me again. I had such a strong grandmother. I’m sorry, grandmother...
“I understand that the reason this all started was because Prince Schneider wanted to have you on his side to fight Prince Gardner.”
“Yes. What’s the royal family like now?”
“Hmm, things got kind of crazy with them. First of all, Prince Gardner was too focused on Maribelle and not doing very much studying, so the nobility started to doubt whether he was qualified to be king. The queen was really angry... Wait, I guess this happened while you were still in Judore.”
It did? I was out of touch, so I didn’t know. All I had was Cecil’s information. I can imagine it though. Wait a minute, brother...!
“Brother, you know about Maribelle?”
“Yeah, father told me she’s an important factor.”
“H-Have you met her?”
“No, I swore never to meet her in person. So did father. We heard it was an order from Lou. I’d like to know the reason why...”
“Someday,” replied Lou.
“I’m looking forward to it. So, Prince Schneider is working with Maribelle now.”
“He’s what?!” Lou and I exclaimed in unison.
“Everyone saw them dancing together and acting friendly at a ball the other day.”
“Wh-What about Prince Gardner?”
“He was angry, of course, and he protested. But he’d been neglecting his training, so he was no match for Prince Schneider, who had the heavenly beast of the north. He lost the argument easily.”
Prince Gardner definitely wasn’t weak or stupid, but with nothing but yes-men around him, he couldn’t grow...
“Oh, and everyone’s talking about something crazy Maribelle said about that. Something like, ‘Please! Don’t fight over me! Which ending should I pick for this amazing hidden event? They’re both princes, so I guess the more handsome one!’ I have no idea what all that’s supposed to mean.”
That’s almost refreshing, Maribelle...
“How about the queen?”
“She’s grateful that Prince Gardner is away from Maribelle, but she’s wary because she can’t read Prince Schneider’s intentions. You know him best out of all of us. What do you think of the situation?”
Prince Schneider... It’s come to this... I cautiously selected my words.